Английская Википедия:Iron Wolf (organization)
Iron Wolf (Шаблон:Lang-lt) was a semi-official Lithuanian militarized organization active in 1928–1930, led by Prime Minister Augustinas Voldemaras. Established at the end of 1927 by the ruling Lithuanian Nationalist Union to help suppress its opposition, it was inspired by the Blackshirts, an Italian fascist organization. The organization was secret; it was officially a sports union from May 1928. The organization spied on its political opponents, engaged in limited physical coercion, and launched propaganda initiatives. It had more than 4,000 members.
When Voldemaras was removed as Prime Minister in September 1929, Antanas Smetona attempted to install his men. When that failed, the organization was officially closed on 24 May 1930. However, supporters of Voldemaras remained active and became known as Шаблон:AnchorVoldemarininkai ("Voldemarians", "Voldemarists"). They planned several anti-Smetona coups, became increasingly sympathetic to fascism, and often collaborated with Nazis during the German occupation of Lithuania. Iron Wolf was briefly reestablished in 1941 to support the pro-Nazi Шаблон:Interlanguage link.
Establishment and organization
By profession | Number | % |
---|---|---|
Farmers | 1,631 | 39.1% |
Government employees | 1,024 | 24.6% |
Police employees | 551 | 13.2% |
Students | 523 | 12.6% |
Craftsmen | 192 | 4.6% |
Workers | 98 | 2.7% |
Others | 145 | 3.5% |
By age | Number | % |
Under 21 | 418 | 10% |
21 to 40 | 3,426 | 82.3% |
Over 40 | 320 | 7.7% |
By military service | Number | % |
Reserve officers | 194 | 4.7% |
Reserve soldiers | 2,126 | 51% |
Active military | 15 | 0.4% |
No military | 1,829 | 43.9% |
Total | 4,164 | 100% |
The Lithuanian Nationalist Union came to power as a result of the December 1926 coup d'état. Two unsuccessful counter-coups were staged in 1927, one in March by Шаблон:Ill and another in September (see Tauragė Revolt). Thus, the nationalists felt insecure.Шаблон:Sfn Iron Wolf, named after the howling iron wolf featured in the legend on the founding of Vilnius, was established to help the new regime fight its opponents. The organization was officially established on 8 January 1928 though preparations started few months earlier.Шаблон:Sfn It was inspired by the Blackshirts, an Italian fascist organization loyal to Benito Mussolini.Шаблон:Sfn Initially, Iron Wolf was a secret organization. On 26 May 1928, it established the Iron Wolf Sports Union, chaired by Шаблон:Ill, which became its public front organization.Шаблон:Sfn It was the only militarized sports club in interwar Lithuania.Шаблон:Sfn The secret organization, to distinguish it from the legal sports union, was referred to as the National Defense of Lithuania "Iron Wolf" (Шаблон:Lang) or simply Defense (Шаблон:Lang).Шаблон:Sfn Despite secrecy, existence of Iron Wolf became known.Шаблон:Sfn
While its chief was Prime Minister Augustinas Voldemaras, the organization was headed by the Supreme Staff (Шаблон:Lang) commanded by Algirdas Sliesoraitis.Шаблон:Sfn The structure of Iron Wolf was based on military order and hierarchy.Шаблон:Sfn The organization attracted police officers, soldiers, government employees as well as students and teachers. In January 1929, it had about 3,500 members and 1,500 candidates divided into 252 groups.Шаблон:Sfn By June 1, it grew to 4,164 members.Шаблон:Sfn Iron Wolf was funded from the special government funds by the Ministry of the Interior.Шаблон:Sfn Its motto was "Nation's honor and State's prosperity" (Шаблон:Lang).Шаблон:Sfn
Activities
Members of Iron Wolf were assigned one of three main tasks:
- activist (taking verbal or physical action when ordered)
- spying (report on private conversations and infiltrate other organizations),
- propaganda (openly propagate Iron Wolf's ideology).Шаблон:Sfn
Use of force
The members collected information about the political opponents of the new regime and the overall situation and mood of the general public. The reports were forwarded to the Supreme Staff, which decided on further actions.Шаблон:Sfn If called, the members were supposed to help the Lithuanian Nationalist Union suppress protests, coups, or other anti-government disturbances.Шаблон:Sfn Detail plans were drawn up on rapid response to threats; in this regard Iron Wolf duplicated the functions of the police and the military.Шаблон:Sfn It does not appear that these plans were used in practice except, perhaps, on 6 May 1929 when suspects were apprehended after an unsuccessful assassination attempt against Voldemaras.Шаблон:Sfn
Members of Iron Wolf used intimidation tactics against political opponents. However, very little is known about the violent activities of Iron Wolf as most of these records were destroyed when the organization was liquidated in 1930.Шаблон:SfnШаблон:Sfn They patrolled city streets, followed activists, on occasion engaged in public scuffles, particularly with members of national minorities (Poles and Jews).Шаблон:Sfn There is no evidence that Iron Wolf murdered anyone.Шаблон:Sfn
Iron Wolf was suspected of kidnapping and torturing newspaper editor Шаблон:Ill in August 1928.Шаблон:Sfn Bridžius refused to submit a complaint to the police and resigned; the newspaper Momentas (Moment) was taken over by members of Iron Wolf.Шаблон:Sfn In early 1929, a group of Iron Wolf members vandalized Jewish store signs in Kaunas; this was done without approval from superiors and the perpetrators were threatened with disciplinary sanctions.Шаблон:Sfn The number of incidents increased after the May 1929 assassination attempt on Voldemaras.Шаблон:Sfn The Supreme Staff lost control of some of the more extreme members and started purging the ranks.Шаблон:Sfn
The most serious incident occurred during the night from 1 to 2 August 1929 in the Vilijampolė district of Kaunas.Шаблон:SfnШаблон:Sfn During the day, communists organized a protest and the police arrested 81 people, including 76 Jews. During the night, several men (officially identified as members of the Lithuanian Riflemen's Union) started patrolling the streets and asking Jews for identification documents.Шаблон:Sfn When Jews refused, the men started beating every passing Jew. Next morning, 30 Jews submitted a complaint to the police. Initially, the official press of the Lithuanian Nationalist Union defended and excused the perpetrators. But later they were condemned and 17 men were tried in May 1932. Twelve of them were sentenced to prison for two to nine months.Шаблон:Sfn While Iron Wolf was not mentioned in any proceedings, behind the scenes Minister of the Interior Шаблон:Ill blamed leaders of Iron Wolf for the failure to contain their men.Шаблон:SfnШаблон:Sfn
Iron Wolf developed a strategy for dealing with its political opponents. Together with the police and other authorities, members of Iron Wolf searched and apprehended members of openly anti-government organizations (e.g. members of the Communist Party of Lithuania or the so-called Plečkaitininkai).Шаблон:Sfn Members of the popular and influential Lithuanian Christian Democratic Party and the Lithuanian Popular Peasants' Union were recruited to join organizations established by nationalists – the Lithuanian Catholic Union (Шаблон:Lang) and the Lithuanian Farmers Unity (Шаблон:Lang).Шаблон:Sfn The nationalists did not establish an organization to siphon members of the Social Democratic Party of Lithuania as very few members of Iron Wolf were workers.Шаблон:Sfn
Propaganda and indoctrination
Iron Wolf emphasized and demanded absolute obedience from its members.Шаблон:Sfn Iron Wolf declared itself to be an apolitical organization – it did not have a political program and only stood active guard against anti-government threats. However, very quickly leaders of Iron Wolf developed their own ideology that rejected democracy for radicalism and nationalism.Шаблон:Sfn Members were required to promote the ideas of Iron Wolf – participate in pro-government gatherings, publish articles, etc. – to create an illusion of the popular support to the new regime. Its propaganda efforts were referred to as the wolfization (Шаблон:Lang) of the society.Шаблон:Sfn From 1928 to December 1929, Iron Wolf published its periodical Шаблон:ILL (Path of the Nation) twice a month. In total, 84 issues were published.Шаблон:Sfn It was a lot more radical than other periodicals published by the Lithuanian Nationalist Union.Шаблон:Sfn In this periodical, Iron Wolf did not defend that it was chauvinist but rejected any accusations that it was anti-Semitic. In its internal documents, Iron Wolf prohibited any excesses against the Jews but worked on a program to reduce Jewish economic influence and to support Lithuanian-owned businesses (i.e. to "free Lithuanians from economic subjugation by the Jews").Шаблон:Sfn Tautos kelias published some articles exposing corruption or lack of patriotism based on secret reports submitted to the Supreme Staff. The newspaper was sued several times for publishing false information and slander.Шаблон:Sfn
The members were mandated to join the Lithuanian Riflemen's Union which had somewhat similar goals of creating a people's militia. Joining the riflemen allowed members to acquire and practice weapons without raising suspicion. Eventually, Iron Wolf planned to infiltrate the riflemen and "cleanse" it of "ideologically unreliable" personnel.Шаблон:Sfn Iron Wolf promoted sports, particularly those that were related to military preparedness. Special attention was paid to shooting sports and weapons instruction. Iron Wolf hired military instructors and requisitioned three machine guns.Шаблон:Sfn Starting in fall 1928, Iron Wolf started creating sections of the sports union in various schools to recruit youth into the organization. When Iron Wolf sections were blocked by legal obstacles, the organization worked with school groups organized by Young Lithuania, the youth branch of the Lithuanian Nationalist Union.Шаблон:Sfn In April 1929, Minister of Education Шаблон:Ill approved school curriculum on military preparedness and removed legal obstacles for Iron Wolf to organize student groups.Шаблон:Sfn In parallel, Iron Wolf worked to infiltrate and "cleanse" Dr. Jonas Basanavičius Nationalist Teachers' Union and to remove "non-patriotic" teachers from schools.Шаблон:Sfn
Disestablishment
Iron Wolf was loyal to Voldemaras and there were rumors that he might use it to oust President Antanas Smetona.Шаблон:Sfn Smetona acted first and removed Voldemaras as Prime Minister on 19 September 1929. Smetona demanded Sliesoraitis' resignation, but he refused and Iron Wolf split into two – those loyal to Smetona and those loyal to Voldemaras. Supporters of Voldemaras were persecuted and went underground; many other members resigned.Шаблон:Sfn On 30 November 1930, the office of the Supreme Staff was bombed, giving Smetona an impetus for a full-scale prosecution of Voldemaras supporters.Шаблон:Sfn The Lithuanian Nationalist Union installed new commanders, Kazys Matulevičius and Brunonas Štencelis,Шаблон:Sfn who attempted to cleanse and reorganize the severely reduced organization. Tautos kelias was renamed to Mūsų tautos kelias (Path of Our Nation). However, the organization was in total disarray and was officially closed on 24 May 1930.Шаблон:Sfn The sports union was disbanded on 7 November 1930.Шаблон:Sfn
The old Iron Wolf loyal to Voldemaras continued as an underground group known as Voldemarininkai. In 1934, its members attempted a failed coup d'état against President Smetona. Voldemaras was imprisoned, but was released in 1938 and emigrated to France. Nevertheless, Voldemarininkai continued to be active. They reestablished Iron Wolf after Lithuania was occupied by Germany in 1941. It was supposed to be similar to Nazi SA or SS and support the Шаблон:Interlanguage link (Lithuanian equivalent to the Nazi Party).Шаблон:Sfn However, the party was officially closed in December 1941.Шаблон:Sfn
References
Bibliography
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- Шаблон:Cite journal
- Шаблон:Cite journal
- Шаблон:Cite journal
- Шаблон:Cite encyclopedia
- Шаблон:Cite web
- Шаблон:Cite encyclopedia
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